The needs outweigh the negatives

Published: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 9, 2014 at 12:56 p.m.

Hendersonville City Council did the right thing to waive add-on charges for extending water and sewer to a proposed 64-unit apartment complex for low-income residents. Now it is up to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners to do the same and approve a rezoning request for the site.

Commissioners are set to decide at their meeting Monday whether to approve rezoning of 5.6 acres along Pisgah Drive near the Brian Center from Residential 2 to “Office and Institutional Conditional (OIC).”

The county planning department recommended the change, advising that requirements for a site plan, lighting, stormwater controls, adequate parking, road standards, sign restrictions and plans for future expansions could be met. Yet in March, the Henderson County Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend commissioners deny the rezoning.

Some neighbors of the proposed development spoke out against the rezoning at the planning board’s March 20 meeting. Among their concerns were increased traffic to the already accident-prone westernmost intersection of Pisgah Drive and U.S. 64 West. Planning Board Chairman Steve Dozier said he was also concerned with the legal question of spot zoning. State law allows for land to be zoned differently from surrounding parcels, but the change must be must be justified.

“I think there is definitely a need for affordable housing,” Dozier said, adding it should be in the right place.

Therein lies the rub. For years, advocates for low-income and working residents have decried the lack of affordable housing in the county. Yet aside from efforts of Housing Assistance Corporation and Habitat for Humanity, there has been little new housing built that could be considered affordable. And when it is proposed, neighbors are sometimes leery.

A March 5 study on the need for low-income housing in the central portion of the county showed a need of 520 units, according to Housing Assistance Executive Director Noelle McKay. Another study in 2012 identified an immediate need for 1,719 new affordable apartments countywide. Last year, almost 100 families were on a waiting list for one of Hendersonville Housing Authority’s 384 units.

The Pisgah Drive complex, to be called Rosebay Apartments, would primarily serve residents who earn 60 percent and less of the county’s median income, listed for families at $43,105 in a 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report.

There is a clear need for more housing units considered affordable, especially in the central part of the county. City Council supports the idea strongly enough that members voted May 1 to waive water and sewer “system development” charges totaling more than $173,000. Housing Assistance Corp. has agreed to pay the cost to extend the city’s sewer line, which now ends just east of the property.

This is not the first time city leaders have waived water and sewer system charges for projects that boosted affordable housing. The city has done it for two Housing Assistance Corp. projects for low-income seniors off Old Spartanburg Road, and for Habitat’s Dodd Meadows subdivision — 78 single-family units and 10 duplexes on 20+ acres in East Flat Rock.

In the case of the proposed Pisgah Drive apartments, the question remains, is the site a suitable place to build 64 housing units? Neighbors should have a say in what kind of development occurs near their homes, and the western junction of Pisgah Drive and U.S. 64 has seen many wrecks. However, there is a precedent for use other than single-family residential already set by the presence of the Brian Center.

And county planning staff recommended the zoning change, indicating that permitting can handle issues such as parking, road standards and stormwater controls. Since Pisgah Drive intersects U.S. 64 in two places, traffic from the apartments would be spread out, notwithstanding the need to improve the western intersection.

Nobody is taking about traffic concerns as a reason to derail a big new joint health care education facility set to be built about a mile away on U.S. 64 W.

Given the documented need for many more housing units that people of limited means can afford, commissioners should approve the rezoning to allow this sorely needed project to move forward.

<p>Hendersonville City Council did the right thing to waive add-on charges for extending water and sewer to a proposed 64-unit apartment complex for low-income residents. Now it is up to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners to do the same and approve a rezoning request for the site.</p><p>Commissioners are set to decide at their meeting Monday whether to approve rezoning of 5.6 acres along Pisgah Drive near the Brian Center from Residential 2 to Office and Institutional Conditional (OIC).</p><p>The county planning department recommended the change, advising that requirements for a site plan, lighting, stormwater controls, adequate parking, road standards, sign restrictions and plans for future expansions could be met. Yet in March, the Henderson County Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend commissioners deny the rezoning.</p><p>Some neighbors of the proposed development spoke out against the rezoning at the planning board’s March 20 meeting. Among their concerns were increased traffic to the already accident-prone westernmost intersection of Pisgah Drive and U.S. 64 West. Planning Board Chairman Steve Dozier said he was also concerned with the legal question of spot zoning. State law allows for land to be zoned differently from surrounding parcels, but the change must be must be justified.</p><p>I think there is definitely a need for affordable housing, Dozier said, adding it should be in the right place.</p><p>Therein lies the rub. For years, advocates for low-income and working residents have decried the lack of affordable housing in the county. Yet aside from efforts of Housing Assistance Corporation and Habitat for Humanity, there has been little new housing built that could be considered affordable. And when it is proposed, neighbors are sometimes leery.</p><p>A March 5 study on the need for low-income housing in the central portion of the county showed a need of 520 units, according to Housing Assistance Executive Director Noelle McKay. Another study in 2012 identified an immediate need for 1,719 new affordable apartments countywide. Last year, almost 100 families were on a waiting list for one of Hendersonville Housing Authority’s 384 units.</p><p>The Pisgah Drive complex, to be called Rosebay Apartments, would primarily serve residents who earn 60 percent and less of the county’s median income, listed for families at $43,105 in a 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report.</p><p>There is a clear need for more housing units considered affordable, especially in the central part of the county. City Council supports the idea strongly enough that members voted May 1 to waive water and sewer system development charges totaling more than $173,000. Housing Assistance Corp. has agreed to pay the cost to extend the city’s sewer line, which now ends just east of the property.</p><p>This is not the first time city leaders have waived water and sewer system charges for projects that boosted affordable housing. The city has done it for two Housing Assistance Corp. projects for low-income seniors off Old Spartanburg Road, and for Habitat’s Dodd Meadows subdivision  78 single-family units and 10 duplexes on 20+ acres in East Flat Rock.</p><p>In the case of the proposed Pisgah Drive apartments, the question remains, is the site a suitable place to build 64 housing units? Neighbors should have a say in what kind of development occurs near their homes, and the western junction of Pisgah Drive and U.S. 64 has seen many wrecks. However, there is a precedent for use other than single-family residential already set by the presence of the Brian Center.</p><p>And county planning staff recommended the zoning change, indicating that permitting can handle issues such as parking, road standards and stormwater controls. Since Pisgah Drive intersects U.S. 64 in two places, traffic from the apartments would be spread out, notwithstanding the need to improve the western intersection.</p><p>Nobody is taking about traffic concerns as a reason to derail a big new joint health care education facility set to be built about a mile away on U.S. 64 W.</p><p>Given the documented need for many more housing units that people of limited means can afford, commissioners should approve the rezoning to allow this sorely needed project to move forward.</p>